(19 pts.)

Type your answers.  I won't grade answers that are not typed. Graphs do not have to be typed.

1.  Some might think that rent seeking evens out income in the economy - however, public choice economists contend that that probably isn't true.  Why?  (5 pts.)

2.  We have studied why Bryan Caplan thinks that voters are to blame (at least in a large part - for bad economic policies being passed - "bad" meaning that many people in society are harmed by the policies).  Caplan has suggested a solution:  The Voter Achievement Test.   His idea goes like this:

a.  Get rid of traditional civics and government education; the data show it’s waste of money.

b.  Create an annual Voter Achievement Test with questions about politics, economics, and policy.

c.  Each year, any citizen who wants to take the test can do so at testing centers around the country for free.  Taking the test is totally by choice.

d.  Participants receive cash rewards based on their score. E.g.: $1000 for 90%+, $500 for 80-89%, $100 for 70-79%, $0 for less.

The Voter Achievement Test doesn’t just give citizens a clear incentive to actually master the material by whatever means they find effective – elective classes, free reading, Internet, discussion, etc. It also gives them a clear incentive to maintain their mastery of the material, because they can retake the test for cash prizes every single year.

Putting aside problems such as:  who would write and grade the exam (wouldn't there be political bias in that process, for example), or the fact that the test is probably too radical of an idea to actually be politically feasible - answer the following question:

Who would benefit from the OUTCOMES (so this doesn't include the monetary payments of taking the test, for example) of the test and who would lose?  So you first need to tell me what outcome or outcomes you see coming from the test (and why) and then who would benefit and who would gain from the outcome (provide one of each - a gainer and a loser) and why. (8 pts.)

3.  Chose one of the quotations from some of the leading presidential candidates below and explain how it is an example of a politician trying to get votes from BIAS voters (as per Caplan's ways that voters can be bias).  Use only one of the Caplan's ways by which voters can be bias in your answer.  (6 pts.)

Bernie Sanders

 “Let’s be clear: one of the major reasons that the middle class in America is disappearing, poverty is increasing and the gap between the rich and everyone else is growing wider and wider is due to our disastrous unfettered free trade policy.”

Hillary Clinton

“I would agree with Obama a lot, because it is the Democratic agenda. We are going to rid the tax code of these loopholes & giveaways. We’re going to stop giving penny of your money to anybody who ships a job out to another country. We’re going to begin to get the tax code to reflect what the needs of middle class families are so we can rebuild a strong & prosperous middle class. The wealthy & the well-connected have had a president the last 7 years, and it’s time that the rest of the US had a president to work for you every single day. We will have a different approach toward trade. We’re going to start having trade agreements that not only have strong environmental and labor standards, but also a trade time-out.”

Donald Trump

"When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let's say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time. All the time. When did we beat Japan at anything? They send their cars over here by the millions, and what do we do? When was the last time you saw a Chevrolet in Tokyo? It doesn't exist, folks."

Ted Cruz

“One of the specific powers and responsibilities of the federal government is to secure the borders. Property can be taken with due process of law and just compensation.”

Marco Rubio